Does 8 vs 9 feet really matter?

[TheKingEast]

I was in a bidding war for a 8ft ceiling condo which I'm happy I lost because I ended up finding one with 9ft ceilings and I don't think I could go back. 10ft even better but more expensive to decorate. You need to get bigger artwork.

 

[Filip]

I was in a bidding war for a 8ft ceiling condo which I'm happy I lost because I ended up finding one with 9ft ceilings and I don't think I could go back. 10ft even better but more expensive to decorate. You need to get bigger artwork.

My mom's townhouse has 10 ft ceilings on the main floor and 8 on the bottom and top floors. The 10 ft ceilings offer so many options for lighting and decoration.

Condo wise, it really comes down to the square footage and 'amount of doors'. My condo, a late 80s design, early 90s build had too many separating walls, but while renovating, I opened it all up. I scraped the ceilings to smoothen them and painted them a really vivid white. Now they feel a lot taller, in fact, it's hard to figure out where the ceiling begins and the walls end.

 

[James]

My mom's townhouse has 10 ft ceilings on the main floor and 8 on the bottom and top floors. The 10 ft ceilings offer so many options for lighting and decoration.

Condo wise, it really comes down to the square footage and 'amount of doors'. My condo, a late 80s design, early 90s build had too many separating walls, but while renovating, I opened it all up. I scraped the ceilings to smoothen them and painted them a really vivid white. Now they feel a lot taller, in fact, it's hard to figure out where the ceiling begins and the walls end.

That's awesome. The slightly older condo units had such great amount space but unfortunately quite often poor usability. Knocking down walls and/or opening up doorways completely improves the practicality of the entire place. I'm sure your condo looks great now.

 

[Filip]

That's awesome. The slightly older condo units had such great amount space but unfortunately quite often poor usability. Knocking down walls and/or opening up doorways completely improves the practicality of the entire place. I'm sure your condo looks great now.

It's amazing what you can do with that square footage and some creativity... Sure, it's a pain in the ass to renovate condos.. So many rules, regs, and a higher budget required - but it's worth it. I have the square footage with a modern, open concept floorplan, and I didn't spend $1MM+

.... I'm a bit of a size queen when it comes to living space.. It's never enough!

 

[tripwire]

While 9' ceiling give you a more spacious feel, particularly in a smaller space, over 8' ceilings, I find 10' ceilings completely change the way you decorate and illuminate the occupied space. You suddenly have much more storage space above your bookshelf. Changing light bulbs require a real ladder, not just a chair. Artwork can be larger and positioned higher up to better balance your 'canvas'. Lighting requirements can change in terms of angle of spot lights, intensity, frequency/spacing, etc.

Of course, these are all minor factors to consider for a much more spacious feel of your living space. Small spaces suddenly feel airy!

Amen on everything, especially the ladder for light bulbs! My neighbour three floors above has a really tall bar stool that she uses to change her bulbs, but when I borrowed it, I found that it still wasn't high enough! Turns out the upper floors had 9' ceilings whereas the lower floors (like mine) had 10'.

For myself, I would be comfortable with either 9' or 10'.

 

[uto123]

I think I could live with the old 'standard' 8ft ceilings but it'd definitely take some time adjusting as my current place has 9ft ceilings.
The extra height definitely makes it feel larger and more spacious. I don't think I would want a 10ft ceiling anymore than an 8ft ceiling because changing any burnt out bulbs would be a pain.

 

[MousuG]

I've been living in a 10' ceiling condo, having lived in 9' ceiling with 8' in the bedroom. Just visiting friends places with 8' ceiling I can tell you there's no way I will be able to live in them again, I feel so cramped and uncomfortable. 9' would be a minimum. With that said, going to a 10' would mean it's harder and more expensive to switch to a house or something where most of the houses are built on 8' ceilings.

 

[uto123]

I've been living in a 10' ceiling condo, having lived in 9' ceiling with 8' in the bedroom. Just visiting friends places with 8' ceiling I can tell you there's no way I will be able to live in them again, I feel so cramped and uncomfortable. 9' would be a minimum. With that said, going to a 10' would mean it's harder and more expensive to switch to a house or something where most of the houses are built on 8' ceilings.

I can definitely see it being difficult to move from a 10' ceiling condo down to 8' ceilings.

I stayed in a small condo (studio) for a couple years that had a ridiculous ceiling height. I don't know the exact height but I wouldn't be surprised if it was 13'-14'.
For a studio, anything after 9' probably don't make a difference since the overall living space is small anyways.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

Our place has 8" ceilings and we came from a Victorian house with 12 foot ceilings. The only thing we noticed was that we had to chop a foot or so off the chain of our dining room chandelier. Other than that, I barely notice. Maybe it's because we have big rooms, large windows and great open views.

 

[drone5555]

The higher the ceiling the better. My current place has 8 feet ceilings and it’s very difficult to select light fixtures and wall art. When I go to a house with 9ft or higher ceilings I find myself appreciating the higher ceiling height as it completely changes the look and feel of the space.


Only advantage to 8 feet ceilings might be some savings with respect to heating and cooling the place.